1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for charging a power storage device. The present invention specifically relates to a wireless power supply system and a wireless power supply method for charging a power storage device using electric waves.
2. Description of the Related Art
At various scenes of social life, the processing of information through a computer network is performed, and the realization of a ubiquitous society where convenience of the processing of information through a computer network can be enjoyed is approaching. The word “ubiquitous” comes from the Latin meaning “existing or being everywhere” (being omnipresent) and is used in a sense that the processing of information using computers is naturally widespread throughout a living environment without any awareness of computers at anytime or anywhere.
A portable electronic device such as a cellular phone requires a battery charger for charging a built-in battery. Electric power that is necessary for a charger is received from utility power distributed to each house. In other words, in order to charge a built-in battery of a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device needs to be set in a battery charger and a power supply cord (plug) of the battery charger needs to be plugged into an outlet. Accordingly, there is normally a problem in that a charging operation for a portable electronic device cannot be performed in a place where utility power is not available. Therefore, in order to enable a charging operation for a portable electronic device even in a place where utility power is not available, a portable charging device is thought of, which is charged with externally supplied electric energy without contact, stores the electric energy, and outputs the electric energy at the time of charging (for example, refer to Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2003-299255).